THURSDAY SPORTS, MAY 29, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
—Mitchell Kernels girls golf season ends next week with the Class AA state tournament in Sioux Falls at Prairie Green Golf Course on Monday and Tuesday.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field competes at the state meet in Sioux Falls starting on Thursday and running through Saturday.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD’s Tre Young advanced to the NCAA Track and Field Championships after placing in the top 12 at Wednesday’s pole vault semifinal in College Station, Texas. Young cleared 17 feet, 5 ½ inches. On Thursday, nine USD women are in action at the NCAA West First Round.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero hit fourth-inning home runs, while Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit in six innings to lead the Tampa Bay Rays over the Minnesota Twins 5-0. The Twins are off today before starting at three game series at Seattle on Friday at 9:10 pm. Minnesota is 30-25 on the season and tied with Cleveland for second place in the AL Central, six game behind first place Detroit.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Class B South Dakota High School Baseball Association All-State Team
First Team
Carter Sommer, Parkston/Ethan, SS/P
Luke Koepsell, Howard, P
Tyler Sanderson, Hanson/Bridgewater-Emery, UTL/P
Second Team
Ben Wilber, Hanson/Bridgewater-Emery, 3B/P
Bryce Sattler, Scotland/Menno, IF/P
Kash Neugebauer, Parkston/Ethan, 1B/P
Kenyon Kuiper, Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake, C/1B
AMATEUR BASEBALL – THURSDAY
Alexandria vs. Dimock/emery
Parkston Rays vs. Platte
Mt. Vernon vs. Parkston Mudcats
Mitchell Aces vs. Corsica
NBA
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 on Wednesday night to win the Western Conference finals series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. Julius Randle scored 24 points and Anthony Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves, who shot just 41% from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
NBA PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 7 pm on TNT – Indiana leads the series 3-1
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – WEDNESDAY
Florida Panthers 5, Carolina Panthers 3 – Florida wins the Eastern Conference Finals 4-1
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers, 7 pm on ESPN – Edmonton leads the Western Conference Finals 3-1
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Nothing less than the future of college sports is being hashed this week at the Southeastern Conference’s annual spring meetings in Florida. Among the topics are the future of the College Football Playoff, the SEC’s own schedule, the transfer portal and the NCAA itself. All are influenced by the fate of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement that hovers over almost every corner of college athletics.
NFL
— Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams made an attempt to quiet a controversy about how he had wanted to go to the Minnesota Vikings rather than his current team. Williams says he did have interest in the Vikings after a visit there but it all ended when he made a trip to Chicago, which owned the first pick in the 2024 draft. Then he decided he wanted to be the one who ended a long drought since the Bears last had a winning quarterback. Williams also labeled as false a part of the report suggesting he didn’t know how to watch film last year and the Bears failed to help him.
HIGH SCHOOL
— California is opening up its track-and-field championship to more girls after a transgender athlete drew controversy for qualifying for the meet. The state announced the change Tuesday after high school junior A.B. Hernandez qualified for the final. Debates are ongoing nationwide over fairness in sports and the participation of transgender female athletes. Some experts say rules may be discriminatory while others say it adds inclusivity because more athletes can compete.
MLB
— Angel Martínez hit a three-run, go-ahead homer as Cleveland scored five times in the eighth inning to rally for a 7-4 win over the Dodgers.
— Royals rookie Noah Cameron pitched into the seventh, scattering six singles as Kansas City beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2. Cameron allowed a run on six hits in 6 1/3 innings.
— Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 15th home run, while Matthew Boyd tossed six innings of four-hit ball as the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1. Colorado falls to 9-47 on the season.
— Clarke Schmidt allowed four hits over six innings as the Yankees made a first inning run stand up in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
— Justyn-Henry Malloy hit a go-ahead single in a four-run fifth inning to help Detroit beat the San Francisco Giants 4-3. The American League-leading Tigers swept the three-game series and closed their homestand with a four-game winning streak.
— Paul Skenes dominated in six-plus scoreless innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled over the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-1. Skenes allowed four hits and struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings.
— Caleb Durbin’s sacrifice fly drove in the winning run for the Milwaukee Brewers, who earned their first sweep of the season with a 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings.
— Bo Bichette hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning, as five Toronto pitchers combined on a one-hitter as the Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers 2-0. The Rangers were held scoreless for the seventh time this season and their only hit was leadoff hitter Josh Smith’s single in the first inning.
— Marlins rookie Agustín Ramírez had the first four-hit game of his career including a home run, four RBI’s and a go-ahead two-run single as Miami beat San Diego 10-8.
— Houston’s Zach Dezenzo homered and Victor Caratini drove in two runs in the seventh inning to help the Astros rally for a 5-3 win over the Athletics.
— Andrew Benintendi had a season-high four RBIs and finished a double shy of the cycle Wednesday, giving the Chicago White Sox a 9-4 win over the New York Mets.
— Washington’s Robert Hassell III had three hits and two RBIs, including his first major league home run as the Washington Nationals routed the Seattle Mariners 9-0.
— Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer, while Masyn Winn had four hits as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4.
CLASS AA STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT – THURSDAY, JUNE 5 IN SIOUX FALLS at AUGUSTANA
No. 1 SF Lincoln vs. No. 8 SF Roosevelt, 10 am
No. 4 SF Jefferson vs. No. 5 Brandon Valley, Noon
No. 2 Harrisburg vs. No. 10 O’Gorman, 2 pm
No. 3 SF Washington vs. No. 6 Rapid City Stevens, 4 pm
CLASS A STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT – THURSDAY, JUNE 5 IN ABERDEEN
No. 1 West Central vs. No. 8 Vermillion, 10 am
No. 4 Dell Rapids vs. No. 5 Sioux Valley, Noon
No. 2 Tri-Valley vs. No. 7 Elk-Point Jefferson, 2 pm
No. 3 Dakota Valley vs. No. 6 Madison, 4 pm
CLASS B STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT – THURSDAY, JUNE 5 IN ABERDEEN
No. 1 Deuel vs. No. 8 Avon, 10 am
No. 4 Alcester-Hudson vs. No. 5 Florence/Henry, Noon
No. 2 Bon Homme vs. No. 7 Mobridge/Pollock, 2 pm
No. 3 Castlewood vs. No. 6 Gayville-Volin, 4 pm
STATE TRACK & FIELD MEET, THURSDAY – SATURDAY, HOWARD WOOD FIELD IN SIOUX FALLS
- Trinity Bietz (Scotland/Menno, Class A) – Aiming for a shot put three-peat; also strong in discus and javelin.
- Liz Boschee (Sanborn Central/Woonsocket, Class B) – Top javelin contender; also competitive in hurdles and high jump.
- Paige Bull (Burke, Class B) – Two-time discus champ; holds the top mark in the state.
- Silas Holdeman (Mitchell Christian, Class B) – Reigning champ in 1,600 & 3,200 meters; now leads in the 800 as well.
- Ashlyn Koupal (Wagner, Class A) – Four-time high jump champ going for five straight.
Other Notable Champions:
- James Deckert (Ethan/Parkston, Class A) – Long jump champ aiming to repeat.
- Emily Diekmann (Burke, Class B) – Defending high jump champ.
- Shawn Hammerbeck (Winner, Class A) – Discus titleholder; now ranked No. 2.
- Reagan Rus (Mt. Vernon/Plankinton, Class A) – 2023 100m hurdles champ, strong in both hurdles events.